Cookbook Review: The Parchment Paper Cookbook

Nearly back-to-back parent teacher conferences. Somehow the day I planned to make the stuffed chicken breast recipe from The Parchment Paper Cookbook fell on the same day I had about 20 minutes at home between conferences.

Originally, I had intended to take my time figuring out how to neatly fold the parchment paper like the examples in the cookbook, it didn’t quite work out that way: Instead my pepper shaker was poised between the pages showing how to fold the paper while I madly cut each chicken breast in half and then squished the stuffing inside.

My twisting technique ended up looking more like a king-sized tootsie roll than the neat folds described in the cookbook. I was sure that the sauce was going to leak out and I was going to have a messy plan to clean up despite the books plug that these are ‘no pots, no pans, no mess’ recipes. It didn’t. No leaks! The chicken breasts turned out moist with stuffing cooked inside and coated in a light, mustard sauce, despite my lack of folding skills. I’m looking forward to trying more recipes, especially the s’mores crepes. I’m including my tweaked recipe of Stuffed Chicken Breast from The Parchment Cookbook by Brette Sember. You can find more of her recipes at NoPotCooking.com. And for easy dishes for Thanksgiving, there’s even a 99-cent ebook of no-mess recipes available through November 19th.

Recipe: Stuffed Chicken Breast

Prep time: 20 minutes (or less:)

Servings: 4-6

Ingredients

3 chicken breasts

3 tablespoons walnuts

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 teaspoons olive oil

3 tablespoons chopped ham

3 tablespoons bread crumbs or panko

6 teaspoons chicken broth, plus 4 tablespoons reserved

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 tablespoons white grape juice (or chicken broth)

3 teaspoons Dijon mustard

3 teaspoons cornstarch

1/2 teaspoon white Balsamic vinegar (optional; any light vinegar will do)

lemon (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Cut three 20-inch pieces of parchment paper.
3. Line your baking sheet with foil (just in case ).
4. Put the chicken breast on the parchment and carefully make a slit into the side, careful not to cut all the way through.
5. In a small food processor, chop up the nuts with the ham, rosemary, garlic then toss in the olive oil, 3 teaspoons chicken broth, bread crumbs, paprika and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Divide this mixture equally among the slits in the three cut chicken breasts.
7. In a small bowl combine 4 tablespoons chicken broth, white grape juice, vinegar, cornstarch, and mustard. Divide and pour equally on the three chicken breasts.
8. Fold the parchment according to the instructions.
9. Bake for 20 minutes.
10. Open the packet and serve. I also squeezed a little fresh lemon over each chicken breast.

Recipe note: This recipe was originally to serve one, but I tripled it for three chicken breasts. My chicken breasts happened to be pretty big so I cut them in half for serving (it took about 10 more minutes to cook too). Also, I poked a digital meat thermometer right through the parchment and into the meat so I knew when it was done. I fixed wild rice and green beans to go along with the chicken.

One more note: I wanted to thank Brette Sember for passing along a review copy of her latest cookbook–she has two more in the works!

Don’t forget to check back in tomorrow when I’ll be announcing the winner of the Hardwood Oak Cutting Board Giveaway.